Unusual
by The Suffering
Summary: Cassandra McKenzie is not looking forward to starting her 5th year at Hogwarts, until someone makes her change her mind. Oliver Wood/O.C. Rated T for some graphic scenes.
1. Chapter 1

Unusual 

_**ONE**_

I sat, starring out the window at the slightly changing scenery outside my parent's small suburban cottage home thinking about the coming day. Another fall, and another school year coming too soon. For me the impending school year always brought new anxieties.

In most ways, I am like any other teenage girl –moody, dramatic, hormonal, and obsessed with clothes and music. In one very important way however, I am very different than your typical fifteen year old girl.

My name is Cassandra McKenzie and I am a witch (in training).

I had no choice in the decision of my fate. My entire family were, and are wizards or witches, the entire family tree. So, whether I liked it or not I was born with certain powers that I couldn't control or even begin to understand. I my mind, I would not have made this choice for myself. All I've ever wanted to be is normal, but, as I've proven time and time again, even in the unusual world of witchcraft, I still don't fit in.

Both my mom and dad were standouts in their class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, both highly respected in our community. I, on the other hand, can barely make it through my classes. Aside from being academic overachievers, my parents met each other in their first year and were inseparable from that day on. I am currently in my fifth year, and still have not found my significant other, or even had a relationship at all. This worries my parents, but being the good parents that they are, they would never let me suspect it, but I can tell by the things they say.

"Maybe this year some lucky boy will catch your eye!" my mother said, like clockwork, as she did every year.

"Right mum, keep the dream alive." Was my standard, go to answer.

I my mind there were more important things than boys. The main thing being my vintage 1985 hot pink Fender Stratocaster. I am, and always have been a rock and roll girl, a fact that somewhat less than pleases my parents. In the normal tradition of parental thoughts, it comes up frequently that music isn't an essential skill in the world that we belong to.

Aside from the fact that I had no desire to live the life my parents planned out for me, and that as wizarding children go I was far less than perfect, my parents are pretty cool, unlike most. I can talk to my parents one on one about anything I care about, or any problem I may have. They are two of the best allies and friends that any girl could ever wish for. This is one of that many reasons why I dread going to school every year.

I do have a few great friends at school, but mostly I desire to hang around home and learn from my parents, which has been labeled as blasphemous in my household.

So, for the fifth year in a row, I sit here yet again, starring out my bedroom window wishing that tomorrow would take as long as it possibly can to get here. This is my usual routine on this day every year.

Sitting curled in a ball on my bed, I turned from my window for a moment, music still faintly drifting out the headphones tucked under my sweatshirt's hood. My attention was captured by the door being nudged open, while a little brown and white ball of hair crept into my room and jumped up onto the bed. The fuzz ball, my English Bulldog, Stella, coming to curl up next to me with her sad little eyes. She is always the only one who can comfort me when I'm in a mood like this.

I knew she could sense that I was upset, so I stroked her gently on the head until she fell asleep.

As I glanced around my room, I closed my eyes every so often, trying to memorize each sight with excruciating detail. This is the last time I'd see it for a long while, so I was going to take my time and savor the moment. I scanned over my walls filled with posters, my pictures of family and friends, my desk filled with all my hand written music, and finally my guitar perched in its corner. Lastly my eyes fell upon the one thing I wished was not a part of my room's décor…my trunk, decorated with every sticker I could fit on it, and filled to the brim with all my clothes and supplies for the coming year.

Just wonderful.

By this time, the afternoon had faded into evening and it was almost time for dinner. Every year my mother made my favorite dinner for me the night before school was back in session. It usually varied year to year on what the meal was, this year being homemade pizza and chips.

I got up from my bed and propelled myself forward down the steps, with Stella following at my rear.

"Nice to see you could join us!" were the first words I'd heard from my father all day, "You done sulking?"

"Hardly" was all I managed to get out before my nose led me to the sight of my mum pulling out the most delicious smelling pizza out of the oven. I was comforted by the fact that she could have very easily used magic to make it and would've been done much faster, but she knew that I preferred it the old fashioned way.

Dinner went fast, as it usually did on days like this, mostly due to the lack of conversation on my part. After we ate and the dishes and mess were cleaned up I said my goodnights and retired to my room.

My only thought upon entering my dank cave of a room, is hoping that the night would never end. I slipped into a pair of shorts and a tee and crawled into bed, my fat little Stella following behind. As she snuggled up closer to me in her usual spot at the end of the bed, I glanced up at my pictures again sighing, but this time one in particular caught my eye.

It was a picture that I'd seen a thousand times over the summer, one of my two best friends and me.

This one was one of my favorites; it was from the end of last semester. There in the middle of the frame were Katie, Angelina and I laughing hysterically while Fred and George Weasley transfigured bunny ears onto the tops of our heads. For some reason it was different, and I couldn't figure out what it was.

That's when I noticed a tall brown haired boy with piercing brown eyes starring at me with an intense look on his face.

"That can't be right; my mind is playing tricks on me." I muttered to myself, trying to rationalize what I was seeing. "Oliver Wood, starring at me? No, of course not."

I settled back into bed, with a blush creeping over the whole of my face. Had I never noticed it before? Was it really always there?

Then as I drifted off to sleep all I could think about was how pretty his eyes were, and how stupid of me for never noticing them before.

And then, for the first time in five years, although I'm not really sure how it happened, I was actually feeling excited about going back to school.


	2. Chapter 2

_**TWO**_

I woke in the morning to the buzzing sound of my alarm and wetness on my face. I opened my eyes to see Stella starring me down. I then proceeded to push her off my chest as I rolled over and pulled my pillow over my head.

"It can't be morning already" I thought.

Not again. Not another year.

I laid there like that for a few more minutes until I felt a bit more weight on the side of my bed. "Time to get up sleepyhead", my mother said while pulling the pillow off my head. "You wouldn't want to be late for your 5th year at your favorite school!"

"Ha-ha, very funny mum. When did you become a comedian?" I replied.

She brushed the hair out my face and kissed me softly on the forehead, before getting up and walking downstairs. After she was gone I sat straight up in my bed, scanning my wall once more. I had to look at the picture again from last night, I was sure I was hallucinating. Yet, there it was again, the same chocolate eyes, the same intense stare.

As I got up and made my way to the bathroom I could feel an unsure smile creep across my face. When I entered the room I paused for a minute to look at myself in the mirror. I looked up and saw the same thing I always did, same pale skin, choppy blonde/black hair and blue-green eyes. There was nothing special about me. I had a pretty face, not gorgeous, but please able, and an average body, no petite, not obese. I stood scrutinizing myself for a few more minutes, wondering how I could catch anyone's stare, before I soon gave up and decided that there was really nothing worth looking at. It was commonly known that Oliver Wood thought about Quidditch 24/7, so maybe he thought my head resembled a quaffle?

I stepped away from the mirror and tried to focus on what I was supposed to be doing, getting a shower. I turned on the water to a reasonable temperature and stepped in, letting the warm water flow over me as I began to lather my hair. It had been just this summer, after my June 27th birthday, that my mother had let me dye it this outrageously and I loved it. I paused for a second thinking what my classmates would think of it, then quickly shook the thought. I tried to get rid of any thoughts of school. This was my last day as a free girl, and I needed to savor every moment.

I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, I could have stayed in there for the entirety of the day. After I walked back to my room I got dressed in the only outfit I hadn't packed away and sat on my bed, listening to the faint sound of the radio playing in the background. I flicked on the television, but nothing caught my interest so I shut it back off. This was my usual routine on this same day every year. I could hardly wait until I could apparate, just so I wouldn't be forced through this torture anymore. A stifled noise came from behind me, and I knew Stella was fast asleep. Poor little thing, she was going to miss me almost as much as I'd miss her.

Finally, Dad came up to get my trunk and Stella woke, startled, when it dropped on accident. I trudged down the steps after him with my trademark scowl on my face, trying to hide the fact that curiosity about the photograph was still in the back of my mind.

My mum wrapped her arm around me and we walked side by side out to the car. "The house will be so quiet without you, pet."

"I know mum, I'll miss you too. Please try to watch out for Stel, don't let her get too lonely." I replied.

"We won't darling, don't worry" she said, as she climbed into my dad's 1965 Cobra. The muscle car was his only means of muggle transportation, and people always starred when we took it anywhere, which was why he always reserved it for this certain day each year. Dad always said, "If you have to blend in with them, why not do it in style?"

I settled myself into the backseat and put on my headphones, letting my mind drift.

The drive seemed like it took minutes, as usual, while I was wishing, as every year, that it would take longer. I sat in the backseat watching the blues of the sky and the greens of the trees pass by, as I absentmindedly listened to the music spilling from my ipod. One thing kept playing over and over in my mind…Oliver Wood. It was no secret that he was good looking, anyone could see it, but I could never imagine what he saw in me. Maybe he was looking at Katie, or Angelina, that had to be it.

Suddenly I was jarred from my thoughts as we pulled up to the station, and I took the long walk to the platform, towing my trunk behind me. There were kids flooded everywhere trying to find their friends, and saying goodbye to loved ones. I turned to face my parents and my mother tucked a hair behind my ear as she said, "Goodbye pumpkin, I'll miss you so much." I saw a tear well up in her eye as she hugged me tightly. "I'll miss you too mum, and you too dad."

"Eh, yeah, I guess you're not too bad to have around the house, now who will I have to laugh at my jokes and defend me against your mother?" joked my father as he ruffled my hair. I hugged them both tightly, and I made my way onto the train as they turned to leave. I quickly tried to find my way to an empty compartment, which wasn't too hard with all the chaos going on outside. I found a suitable section and took a seat, curling up in the corner with whatever book I was reading at the time. Katie and Angelina found me soon after and joined me.

"What have you done to your hair!" they screamed in unison. I just smiled and hugged them both.

The train ride was mostly uneventful, with us catching up on the latest gossip that we hadn't gotten to share with each other in the past week. I got some reading done after we gorged ourselves on chocolate from the trolley, and then soon we arrived at our destination.

As it was every year, it was a fight to get off the train in a timely manner. I had just managed to fight my way out to the corridor with my trunk, when my feet went completely out from underneath of me. Thanks to my gracefulness, I then landed in two very muscular arms. "You really ought to be more careful" said my rescuer, as I fought to gain my composure. I turned to thank whoever it was, and I was met by the two most beautiful brown eyes and blushing red face I'd ever seen.

"Oh, Oliver! Thank you so much. I'm so sorry; my feet never seem to go where my brain tells them to go." I replied, as a red coloring creeped over my face, slowly matching the color of Oliver's.

"Look what we have here!" someone shouted from behind me.

"Well Fred, looks like Wood's become the knight in shining armor type."

"Yes George, I think you're right. New way to meet the ladies Wood?" Fred replied.

After I found my footing, and apologized to Oliver again, Katie, Angelina and I made our way off the train and found an empty carriage. The carriage started to ascend towards the castle as we continued to talk and change into our robes, and after a short time we arrived at our destination. We set down our things as we walked into the castle and everyone took their seats at their house tables as we waited for the sorting to begin. The sorting itself was mostly uneventful until Professor McGonagall called one name in particular, Harry Potter.

The hall became abuzz with whispers. "Is it really him?" Angelina said to Katie and I. "I wonder where he'll get sorted?" Katie replied as I shrugged and turned my attention to the Boy Who Lived.

A small boy with dark hair and glasses walked up and sat down. After a few minutes, the Sorting Hat called out "Gryffindor!" and our entire house roared with applause before chanting "We got Potter!" as loud as they could.

The sorting ended and we ate our dinners and talked to some of the other new members of our house, including Fred and George's little brother Ron. After a few words from Dumbledore, we were all dismissed to our dormitories. I trudged up the stairs arm in arm with my tow best friends, and we all collapsed onto our beds as soon as we entered our room.

"I can't believe Harry Potter got sorted into our house!" Katie said.

"I wonder if he's any good at Quidditch" Angelina replied.

"Who knows? But I'm sure we'll find out. One thing is for sure though, this is going to be an interesting year!" I said as I crawled under my bed covers and turned off my light.

"Goodnight loves."

This was going to be a very interesting year indeed.


End file.
